Senator Whitehouse on Climate Change

I urge you all to take a few moments to watch this video. Members of Georgia Sea Grant, St. Marys’ Planning Director, and others accompanied Senator Whitehouse on his tour. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50O_zOS1GHM 

This is the reality that all coastal areas must address, and I am thankful that the elected leaders, city staff, and citizens of St. Marys are overwhelmingly supportive of efforts to understand the impacts of climate change, and plan accordingly to ensure a safe and prosperous future.

Alex

Green Schools

The St. Marys Garden Club is offering a series of lessons for 2nd graders at St. Marys, Crooked River, and Mary Lee Clark Elementary schools. Barbara Connor, Gail Steier, Angel Bernier, and Karen Widing volunteer their time and talents to teach 2nd graders about recycling, plant growth and taking care of the earth. Each school received two sets of books (funded, in part, by the St. Marys EarthKeepers).

In the first lesson students met Max from “I Can Save the Earth” by Alison Inches who discovered easy and simple ways to take care of our planet. During the second visit, students learned how red wiggler worms can be used for composting and read the book “Wiggling Worms at Work” by Wendy Pfeffer.

Gale Lizana (teacher and long-time EarthKeepers board member) was able to keep a worm bin in the classroom for several weeks for the students to observe. As spring approached students examined the seeds and seed pods of several species and then planted their own pumpkin seeds. The final lesson for the year coincided with Earth Day. Students made flower magnets from recycled water bottles. 

The Garden Club plans to continue this program next year and we offer our thanks, support…and applause. 

A Threat To The Marsh

A memo recently released by Georgia Environmental Protection Division Director Judson Turner effectively removed the requirement for a protective 25 ft buffer on marshfront properties.

Due to its large tidal range and protective coastal marsh laws, Georgia’s relatively short coastline possesses approximately one-third of the remaining salt marsh on the East Coast. 

Whole and healthy, the marsh is a nursery for commercial seafood, a tourist attraction, and a critical factor in reducing flooding. Without that vital buffer, polluted run-off will enter the marsh directly (causing mass die-off) and we will be stripped of the critical protection from storm-surge.

For more information, please read this article: http://saportareport.com/blog/2014/04/earth-day-present-from-nathan-deals-administration-threatens-to-destroy-states-fragile-coastal-marshes/comment-page-1/

A helpful video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LycjLwl0drE

Please send your comments about this pressing issue to: 

Governor Nathan Deal
203 Capitol Place, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
(404) 656-4713

Commissioner Mark Williams
mark.williams@dnr.state.ga.us

EPD Director Judson Turner
jud.turner@dnr.state.ga.us

jason.spencer@house.ga.gov
william.ligon@senate.ga.gov